Years after hanging their boots, some former Asante Kotoko players have taken the bold step towards prolonging their footballing journey by enrolling in the ongoing CAF License D Coaching programme in the Ashanti Region.
As many as 7 former players of the Porcupine Warriors have registered to take part in the exercise as they begin a new path in the footballing sector after having illustrious careers on the field.
The ex-players are Daniel Bomfa, Michael Ofosu Appiah (CID), Abdulai Kankani, Isaac Owusu ‘Ninja’, Eric Nii Baah and Stephen Manu ‘BA’.
The development is refreshing for the football fraternity as this current batch will soon develop to become the next generation of coaches for Ghana Football.
The move by these former players is highly commendable and helps show the way for some of their peers to follow.
Some decades ago, it was uncommon for ex-players to massively get involved in the field of coaching after their playing careers but it is now clear the trend is reversing for good reasons.
The practice of former players taking to coaching remains a common happening in Europe and South America with Africa quite left behind.
In contemporary times, Coaches like Pep Guardiola, Zinedine Zidane, Antonio Conte to mention a few have shown the way for ex-footballers in Europe.
In as much as there are some former ex-African footballers involved in the game as Coaches, the numbers are easily dwarfed when compared to what is happening in Europe and other continents.
One main reason behind this development is how African football administrators continue to have an insatiable like for white coaches.
These players grew up realising local coaches were not given the needed support, attention and respect hence felt discouraged to venture into the terrain once their playing careers were over.
However this mindset is gradually being fading with recent developments. Coaching appointments across national teams and clubs tell an encouraging story that local coaches are beginning to get more opportunities, though this can get better.
It however gets better with small steps like what these 6 former Asante Kotoko players have taken.
They need to be encouraged to forge ahead while word should be spread to others to consider a career down this lane instead of idling around doing basically little to impact the game after their time as players is over.
Former Hearts of Oak captain Amankwah Mireku has urged the current crop of players in the team to win the Ghana Premier League title, noting that they ought to be consistent to be able to achieve that goal.
The Phobians have not been able to win the Ghanaian top-flight in the last 11 years.
But they are in a good run of form in the ongoing 2020/21 Ghana Premier League under the tutelage of new coach Samuel Boadu.
Hearts are currently occupying the second position with 43, two points adrift of league leaders Asante Kotoko.
“Looking at how things are going the players can win the league. Their fate is in their hands. It is possible for them to win the league. They must work hard as a team and also have it in mind that winning the league will make them legends”, he said in an , interview.
“It’s up to them to win the title not the coach or anybody else. Look at where they were on the league table and now they are second on the league log it’s possible”
Hearts of Oak will play against Techiman Eleven Wonders in a match-day 26 battle on Friday at the Ohe, one Ameyaw Park.
A win will see them go on top of the league table should Asante Kotoko drop points against WAFA this weekend.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has postponed the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers for the June International window.
This was contained in a letter signed by CAF Deputy General Secretary in charge of football and development, Anthony Baffoe.
“The reasons of the postponement were based on the actual conditions of certain stadiums in Africa and the restrictions related to COVID-19.
“The 1st round will now take place in the FIFA window of 18-26 October and the 2nd round will take place in the FIFA window of February 14-23, 2022” the letter read.
Ghana was scheduled to play against sworn rivals Nigeria in June 2021 for a ticket to the 2022 Women Africa Cup of Nations.
Former Ghana international, Abukari Damba says he sees Asante Kotoko as the favourite to be crowned champions when the 2020/21 Ghana Premier League comes to a close.
The Porcupine Warriors have been impressive so far in this campaign despite a torrid start to the season.
They are on top of the league with 45 points, two points above second-placed Hearts of Oak, with Great Olympics occupying the third position and Medeama at the 4th position .
Damba, who has been impressed with the Reds has tipped them to win the league. He sees Hearts placing third and Great Olympics grabbing the second position at the end of the season.
“I wish I was a soothsayer but I am not. However, if you push me to the wall, I will tell you I see Kumasi Asante Kotoko lifting the trophy this season,” Damba told Dunkwa-On-Offin based Solar FM.
”This will be followed by Accra Great Olympics with Hearts Of Oak placing third whilst the 4th team will be decided by the last round of matches.”
The Ghana Premier League will continue coming weekend with matchday 26 fixtures.
Legon Cities have been declared winners of their Ghana Premier League Matchday 23 game against Ebusua Dwarfs which ended abruptly.
The Committee therefore makes the following decisions:
1. It is the holding of this Committee that the Protest of Legon Cities FC shall succeed.
2. That for Ebusua Dwarfs FC initiating the acts responsible for causing the abrupt end of the match, Ebusua Dwarfs FC shall forfeit the match in accordance with Article 33(1)(b) of the GFA Premier League Regulations. 3. That having been found to have forfeited the match, Ebusua Dwarfs FC shall be considered as having lost the match in accordance with Articles 33(2) and 34(12) of the GFA Premier League Regulations and accordingly, three points and three (3) goals are hereby awarded in favour of Legon Cities FC.
4. That in addition, being the defaulting club, Ebusua Dwarfs FC shall lose three (3) points from the club’s accumulated points from their previous matches pursuant to Article 33(5)(a) of the GFA Premier League Regulations. 5. That in addition, being the defaulting club, Ebusua Dwarfs FC is hereby fined Five Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢5000.00) payable to the GFA, 50% of which shall be paid to Legon Cities FC pursuant to Article 33(5)(b) of the GFA Premier League Regulations.
6. That in addition, being the defaulting club and being the Home Team, Ebusua Dwarfs FC is hereby ordered to pay an amount of One Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢1,000.00) payable to the GFA, which shall be paid to Legon Cities FC as their Transportation Cost as the Away Team pursuant to Article 33(5)(c) of the GFA Premier League Regulations.
7. That the fines mentioned in Decisions 4 and 5 above, shall be paid to the GFA within fourteen (14) days upon receipt of this Ruling, failing which Ebusua Dwarfs FC shall forfeit their subsequent matches after the said deadline.
8. That should any party be dissatisfied with or aggrieved by this Decision, the party has within one (1) day of being notified of this Ruling to appeal to the Appeals Committee of the Ghana Football Association {See Article 35(10) of the GFA Premier League Regulations}.
Click here for the decision of the Disciplinary Committee:
Even in a season when Asante Kotoko have functioned well as a collective — the Porcupine Warriors are top of the Ghana Premier League table, two points clear, for a reason — there is room for individuals to shine through, and quite a few players have taken advantage of it.
Best of the bunch?
Ismail Abdul Ganiyu.
An ever-present, Ganiyu has featured in game after game — 24 of the 25 played thus far in the league — and many, if not all, of his performances have caught the eye.
Ghana head coach Charles Akonnor was impressed enough to hand Ganiyu an invitation to the Black Stars, and the former Karela United man walked straight in to grab a starting berth.
Ganiyu lasted the entire duration of his first two Ghana games — March’s pair of Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers — and has now also been called up for the country’s next international dates, friendlies against Ivory Coast and Morocco.
He has been the backbone of Kotoko’s backline, serving a reminder of that when his club visited Liberty Professionals on the Premier League’s latest matchday.
Kotoko were holding on for a draw, with the hosts desperate for a winner that would boost their survival hopes. The last clear-cut chance for Liberty to do so fell to Adamu Amadu, who, in one deft move, collected a square-pass, slipped past left-back Ibrahim Imoro, and set himself up for a one-on-one with Kotoko goalkeeper Razak Abalora.
The latter’s expertise in showdowns of that sort stood him in good stead to come up tops, but Ganiyu was taking no chances. Skipper for the day, he flew in to knock the ball out of Amadu’s crosshairs, just before the trigger could be pulled.
That intervention, though, wasn’t the only major contribution from Ganiyu in a man-of-the-match display that ensured Kotoko left Sogakope with something to show for an afternoon’s hard labour. Only minutes before that game-saving clearance, Ganiyu had soared at the other end to connect productively with a freekick from Ibrahim, canceling out Liberty’s first-half lead.
And it’s not the first time Ganiyu has registered on the scoresheet for Kotoko this season. Since selling chief goal-getter Kwame Opoku for some much-needed cash mid-term, Kotoko have had to spread the goals around, with six players sharing the 15 goals scored in that period.
Ganiyu, remarkably, has got a fifth of those — joint-highest, in fact — opening his account from a distant freekick, teed up by teammate Fabio Gama, to kick-start a 4-0 rout of Bechem United. A month later, with Kotoko tied 1-1 at home to Dreams FC, Ganiyu converted a penalty that set his team on its way to a fine 3-1 victory.
In a sport where players are no longer measured merely by the metrics of their traditional positions on the pitch, the modern centre-back isn’t content with merely putting in a great shift at the back.
Many have had to adjust their game to fulfil newer obligations, like pushing forward and offering a helping hand upfront. The archetypal example of this latter-day breed of centre-back, unarguably, is Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos, renowned for scoring as masterfully as he defends, all the while leading and infusing the team’s veins with his own brand of fire and ice.
Ganiyu operates in that Ramos-esque frame of mind these days, albeit with a little less intensity than the feisty Spain captain usually oozes, and embodies all that is well and good with this Kotoko side, namely, defensive discipline and attacking appetite.
Interestingly — but, perhaps, not so incidentally — it is under new Kotoko trainer Mariano Barreto that Ganiyu’s offensive juices have truly flowed, and there is probably a good reason.
“He understands our individual capabilities and makes it easier for players to understand what he wants,” Ganiyu says of Barreto’s hands-on approach.
“He knows what each and every player can do so he tries to just add a little bit to it to give you the confidence to give your best.”
It is noteworthy, then, that Ganiyu ran off to salute Barreto in the immediate aftermath of his first two goals of the season. He probably would have done the same after his third, on Sunday, but there was a game to be won.
Kotoko failed to get that done, but the point earned keeps them at the summit, with just enough breathing space. Even more assuring, however, is the fact that Ganiyu’s gains haven’t turned his head in the direction of greener pastures, having indicated recently that he’d be “more than happy to sign [a contract extension] and continue to serve the team.”
Should he live up to his word, and Kotoko meet his needs half-way, the continued presence of Ganiyu — a player so valuable and so reliable — on the roster could be a real asset in the short- and long-term, especially given how quickly he is also blossoming into a leader.
Andre Ayew’s goal against Barnsley in the first leg of the Championship play-offs on Monday has taken him a step closer to writing his own piece of history by helping Swansea City back to the Premier League.
The Ghana captain has been a key player for the Welsh club, scoring 17 league goals and adding four assists to help secure the Swans that play-off spot.
Since then he has had to endure struggles at West Ham and on loan at Turkish side Fenerbahce before finding his form once again on his return to Swansea.
“Some people will say maybe my career has dwindled because I’m playing in the championship and let me say there were offers to go and play in the Premier and I could have jumped at the first offer that came in, but no,” he told BBC Sport Africa.
“Sometimes it’s not every offer that comes that you have to take, you first look at your happiness and then consult your family and the team and see what is best before making a decision.
“I really don’t think I have lost anything, look at my numbers both here and at the national team, they are getting better and I’m happy for the journey I took.”
Even at the age of 31 Ayew admits he is still on a football learning curve.
“I don’t know how this season will end but my experience has guided a lot of these young players here, they have learnt a thing or two from me and off-course I have also picked up some things from them too,” he explained.
“I have played at the world cup and in the Champions league I think it’s important that I share some of my experiences with the ones also starting their journey.
“We have made the play-offs twice already and if we go up what would you say? And even if we don’t go up, I will know that I gave it my all and just didn’t make the jump when things got tough.”
Image caption,Swansea City’s Andre Ayew is aiming to lead Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon next January
As well as his club ambitions Ayew is still desperate for success with the Ghana national team.
His next chance comes in January when he is to lead the Black Stars in their latest search for the Africa Cup of Nations trophy that has eluded them since 1982.
Their last attempt was a meek exit at the hands of Tunisia at the round of sixteen in 2019, an exit that still troubles Ayew.
“I take full responsibility for that campaign as the captain it was unacceptable and we have spoken about this as a team,” he said
“I still hurt from that but as captain the pain is good because its pain that doesn’t just go away it’s a pain that reminds us that we owe our people the trophy or at least our all.
“We have qualified for Cameroon and we have to prepare and be ready because we have a very good core now and with this core and a little guidance and sacrifice-we can finally achieve our aim.”
